Gerard Butler is being allowed to run one of his previously banned horses before his disciplinary hearing regarding Sungate. Photograph: Hugh Routledge/Rex FeaturesToday's Racing Post brings news that Gerard Butler is about to run one of the horses he trains that has been caught up in the Sungate scandal. Azrag is expected to run at Leicester on Tuesday night, after the end of the six-month ban imposed on the nine Butler horses which, in February, tested positive for the anabolic steroid contained in Sungate, a joint treatment.
The bizarre aspect to this is that Butler has not yet had his hearing at the British Horseracing Authority to determine what, if any, offences he committed in connection with the story. Having admitted that he bypassed his vets to administer the stuff himself, he is widely expected to be facing some sort of ban, though plainly he hopes to avoid any penalty.
The six-month period for which the horses were suspended from running now seems to have the status of BHA policy, being the length of time used whenever a horse tests positive for banned steroids. The BHA believe these horses are most unlikely to be deriving any benefit from an anabolic steroid after that time. But it still seems a mistake to let these horses run, to Butler's potential benefit, before the matter has been heard by a disciplinary panel.
There is a clear risk of tremendous bad feeling if, say, Azrag beats a hot favourite, showing better form than he ever achieved before. There might, of course, be many perfectly understandable reasons for such an outcome that do not involve Sungate, but Sungate is what would be on the minds of punters and of connections of the runner-up. It would have been better to have suspended these horses until proceedings were completed.
If you want to keep an eye on the relevant horses, these are the ones who tested positive, according to the BHA's website:
a) A TOUCH OF FASHION (USA)
b) FLEMISH SCHOOL
c) AZRAG (USA)
d) LA BELLE EPOQUE (USA)
e) RAINBOW BEAUTY
f) ZAIN EAGLE
g) ZAIN QUEEN
h) ZAIN SPIRIT (USA)
i) PRINCE ALZAIN (USA)
Some of these have apparently left Butler's yard since testing positive.
It seems unlikely that, as a class, they will show much improvement on their previous form, but, in the circumstances, we should probably take an interest. At least we can do that in the case of Butler's horses; the BHA is aware of another 43 horses at other stables in Newmarket who have been treated with Sungate but will not release their names. Maybe they all won on their first runs back after receiving the treatment, or maybe they have been substantially the same horses they were before. Perhaps they are less effective; we will never know because the BHA won't tell us.
The BHA has lately been exhibiting a love of secrecy that makes me shiver. In this case, they say their lawyers made it clear that disclosure was not an option, because the trainers involved appear to have broken no rules.
Onwards, then, to today's action. Richard Hannon had another good day at Salisbury yesterday with a couple of winners and could land the Group Three Sovereign Stakes today with Professor (3.55), backable at 9-2.
A good-looking chestnut colt, he is trying a mile for the first time but finished strongly when scoring over seven furlongs at Ascot in May and there was just a suggestion that he was done for pace at that trip last time. In fairness, that was in a Group Two at Goodwood which was by some way his toughest task and he still finished just three lengths behind Garswood.
Allowing for the possibility that he may not have liked the track (he was last of four there last year), that was a fair run and this is a significant drop in class, to a Group Three against beatable rivals.
I shall also be with Hannon when Juvenal (2.40) runs at Newmarket, when odds of 12-1 reflect his disappointing campaign so far. He was odds-on when last of five at Windsor last time but I can't help thinking that the soft state of the going had something to do with that, for all that he has coped with some cut in the past; Richard Hughes suggested it was a factor that day.
Juvenal is only 4lb higher than when quickening smartly to score at Sandown on fast ground last autumn and today's going will be much closer to that. He is worth a spin at those odds against Willow Beck, an admittedly likeable John Gosden favourite.
This week's winners:
Monday
Flighty Clarets 10-1
Mount Tiger 11-8
Jinker Noble 16-1
Tuesday
Fromthetop 9-2
Save The Bees 5-2
Ambitious Icarus 10-1
Wednesday
Bondi Beach Boy 9-2
Mango Diva 5-1
Lisa's Legacy 7-2
and our leader is:
joehow +16.38
. . . who added Mango Diva to Jinker Noble and Mount Tiger, his winners from Monday.
This week's prize is a pair of County Enclosure tickets to Doncaster for St Leger day, Saturday 14 September. If you don't win, you can buy tickets here.
Today, we'd like your selections, please, for these races: 3.55 Salisbury, 4.30 Salisbury, 5.25 Newmarket.
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